CPU of the Day: Military spec Thomson TS68040MFTB/C
Thomson TS68040MFTB/C 33 5962-9314302MYC
Since its Memorial Day here in the United States, the CPU for the day needed to be something mil-spec. This is a very nice Thomson-CSF (part of STMicroelectronics) 68040 processor. The 68040 was released in 1990 by Motorola and was the first of the 68k line to include a full FPU on chip (as opposed to using the 68881/2).
This Thomson part was made in 1999. It is full military temp range (-55 -> 125C) with MIL-STD-883 Class B screening running at 33MHz. Its in a fairly rare (and available by special request only) ‘flat tie bar package’ This is similar to the more common ceramic quad flat pack (CQFP) but the leads are contained and supported by tie bars on the ends. These tie bars are physically attached to the board offering a very strong mechanical support for the processor in environments where high vibrations or higher then normal g-forces may be encountered. The life of a soldier is not an easy one, so electronics must be made to support them, and not fail.
